Saturday, January 21, 2006

Japan will halt imports of beef from the United Statesfollowing the discovery Friday January 20th of a cattlepart considered at high risk of transmitting bovinespongiform encephalopathy (BSE), decision fromAgriculture minister Shoichi Nakagawa and immediatelyendorsed by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

Japan last night re-imposed a ban on all US beef importsafter discovering a spinal cord in meat imported from aUS farm at Narita airport, near Tokyo. The ban, whichwill be a huge blow to US meat producers, comes just amonth after Japan began to re-import US meat following atwo-year import prohibition. US agriculture secretaryMike Johanns acknowledged yesterday that the US hadbreached an agreement with Japan to export beef with nosuch animal parts. "We take this matter very seriouslyand we are conducting a thorough investigation,"

Concerned is the Atlantic Veal and Lamb, the NewYork-based company that shipped the meat to Japan,Johanns said: " We regret that there was amisinterpretation of the export requirements and anhonest mistake involving a very small amount of productthat has led to this degree of concern."

The original Japanese ban was imposed in 2003 after thediscovery of a cow on a farm in Washington stateinfected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or"mad cow disease", a wasting disease that can be fatalin humans.

The ban, which was characterized as unscientific andprotectionist by some US congressmen, cost US farmersnearly $3bn (Euro 2.5bn). Before it was imposed,the US was the biggest exporter of beef to Japan butAustralian producers have moved in aggressively duringthe past two years.

Junichiro Koizumi, Japan's prime minister, said hebacked the decision by Shoichi Nakagawa, agricultureminister, to stop all beef imports until the USsatisfactorily explained how potentially dangerousmaterial had slipped through its safety checks.

The decision comes hot on the heels of Tokyo's move inDecember to lift a two-year ban on U.S. beef imports.The ban was imposed in December 2003 following thediscovery of BSE in the United States. Ministryofficials said spinal column parts were found in threeof 41 boxes of U.S. beef that arrived at NaritaAirport. "If it is indeed a risky portion, it isagainst the import program and quite regrettable,"Nakagawa told reporters.

Nakagawa said his ministry will conduct a thoroughinvestigation and will lodge a complaint with Washingtonif the suspicious portion does indeed turn out to befrom a risky animal part.

Removing high-risk parts, such as the brain, spinal cordand spinal column, was one of the conditions for Japanagreeing to a resumption of beef imports. The UnitedStates generally removes risky portions from cattle aged30 months or older. But Japan's condition for resumingimports was to remove those parts from cattle of allages. Imports have also been limited to meat fromcattle aged 20 months or younger, which is less likelyto be infected.

Nakagawa called Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi onFriday to inform him that the ministry plans to halt allU.S. beef imports. Koizumi agreed, and instructedNakagawa to consult the health ministry and to take"appropriate measures."

But criticism is bound to be directed at the governmentfor resuming imports in the first place amid continuedconsumer massive anxiety over BSE and CJD lethaldisease. To ease concerns, the government has sentanimal and food hygiene experts to the United States tomake sure Japan's conditions are being observed at U.S. ranches and meat processing facilities.

Wu Yi Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC CentralCommittee, vice premier and Agriculture minister (ExMETI minister) Shoichi Nakagawa of Japan. China hasslaughtered nearly 200 cows and more than 100 sheep tocontain two foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks amonglivestock this month, state media reported.

Nonlethal weapons?

Two experts in prion-related fields, Dr. Colm Kelleher,biotech research scientist, and clinician Dr.Christopher Green, former CIA forensic pathologist nowconducts brain-scan research at a leading universitymedical school expressed the conclusion in a 2003 reportthat :

Dr. Colm Kelleher:Quote : "Because of the sometimes quick, sometimesdelayed time factor involved in prion diseases like CJD,and the knowledge that they are always fatal, tallies ofthe number already dead are meaningless compared tothose who are infected but don?t yet know it. If theU.S. Government admits to 4.5-million Americansdiagnosed with Alzheimer?s (of whom a large percentageprobably actually have CJD), there could well be fiftymillion Americans who are prion-infected. If as many asfifty million Americans are terminally infected, plusmillions more in Canada and the UK, millions more inEurope and Asia, we are looking at massive upheaval. AsBritain discovered to its chagrin, lying, deceit, anddisinformation ultimately fail. Denial is not an optionwith prions, any more than it is with global warming. Wewill look at the potential scenarios. What if the beefand diary industries collapse, agriculture goes downwith it, the stock market goes into free-fall, thegovernment is seen to have carried out ahalf-century-long program of deceit, and onequarter ofthe U.S. population goes insane and dies?"

Link: http://www.colmkelleher.com/

- Christopher Green, M.D., Ph.D. Fellow, NeuroimagingHarper University Hospital, Wayne State School ofMedicine "Dr. Kelleher uses forensic medicine toexplore one of the most complicated medical enigmas ofthe past 100 years and wrests from it some frighteningconclusions. A remarkable and very important book."